IPL to resume during India-Pakistan ceasefire leaving Australian players with choice to return

The Indian Premier League is to resume this weekend leaving the many Australians involved with decisions to make.

Cricket's richest competition, which was suspended on Friday May 9 amid fighting between India and Pakistan, will resume on Saturday, May 17, local time, following the announcement of a ceasefire between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

A number of Australians are involved as players, coaching staff and commentators and most have left India, returning home over the weekend.

Now they must decide whether they are able, and wish to, return.

Pat Cummins was reunited with his wife and children back in Australia. (Instagram: Becky Cummins)

Many were shaken by events leading to the postponement and several have other commitments.

Most notable of these is the the World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa, which starts at Lord's on June 11, barely a week after the rescheduled IPL final on June 3.

The IPL still has 13 group matches left, including the fixture between Ricky Ponting's Punjab Kings and Mitchell Starc's Delhi Capitals, which was called off during the first innings on May 8 as air-raid sirens wailed nearby.

India has only 'paused' military action against Pakistan, Modi says Photo shows A man with white hair and white beard wearing frameless glasses looks sternly away from the camera In a national address, Narendra Modi also vowed to take retaliatory action for any future terror attacks.

The match that will resume the tournament will be played between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders on May 17 in Bengaluru.

Josh Hazlewood plays for RCB, but has been nursing a shoulder injury and missed their most recent match. He is expected to be fit for Lord's.

Hazlewood, Starc, captain Pat Cummins, Travis head and Josh Inglis are among the possible Australian WTC players in IPL teams.

Cummins and Head play for Sunrisers Hyderabad, which are out of play-off contention even though they have three matches remaining, but Inglis's Punjab, Starc's Delhi, and Marsh's Lucknow Super Giants remain in the frame.

Other high-profile Australians involved include Justin Langer, coach at Lucknow, Ponting's assistant Brad Haddin, Chennai batting coach Mike Hussey, and commentators Matthew Hayden and Mel Jones.

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Ponting and Haddin are understood to have remained in India.

"After extensive consultations with government and security agencies, and with all the key stakeholders, the Board has decided to proceed with the remainder of the season," India's cricket board (BCCI) said in a statement.

The Pakistan Super League, which includes David Warner among the participants, is also expected to announce a resumption imminently, though many of the overseas players are reported to be unlikely to return, in part due to other commitments.

India and Pakistan have clashed since India struck multiple locations in Pakistan that it said were "terrorist camps" in retaliation for the deadly attack in its troubled region of Kashmir last month, in which it said Islamabad was involved.

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